Field Placement
The Field Placement Program provides GW Law students an opportunity to earn academic credit while working as student externs with government, judicial, and nonprofit organizations. The Program, which is offered in the fall, spring, and summer semesters, exposes students to the practice of law as they work directly with judges or practicing lawyers in the field. Many students in the Field Placement Program do multiple externships over the course of their law school matriculation. With over 500 externships each year and the unique opportunities available to students as a result of our unparalleled location in the heart of the nation’s capital, the Field Placement Program at GW is one of the most extensive legal externship programs in the entire country. Field Placement provides a truly unique opportunity for students to gain practical experience, add critical bullet points to their resumes, develop essential connections in the legal field, and enhance their overall academic experience.
In the field, students gain experience working in a real legal setting and receive regular communication and feedback from the practicing attorney or judge who serves as their placement supervisor. Beyond their work in the field, students benefit from the guidance of esteemed adjunct faculty judges and attorneys, who teach the required corequisite courses that complement the externship experience. The corequisite courses are taught in an experiential format to encourage learning by doing and to foster reflection. The Field Placement Program is the perfect combination of ubiquitous externship opportunities, direct supervision by judges or attorneys in the field, and corequisite courses taught by highly accomplished adjunct faculty.
The Primary Educational Objectives of the Field Placement Program:
- Provide students with the opportunity to gain experience in different substantive areas of law and legal process and reflect upon their professional development;
- Develop legal research, writing, interviewing, counseling and investigative skills and engage in reflective lawyering;
- Deal with issues of professional responsibility in a practice setting and give thought to an attorney’s ethical and moral choices and obligations;
- Consider cross-cultural competency within the context of client representation and an attorney's role in creating a legal system providing equal access and eliminating bias, discrimination, and racism in the law.
Our Unique Location in the Nation's Capital
— Patrick Furbush, JD ‘23. US Department of Justice, Fall 2021; US District Court for the District of Columbia, Spring 2022; US Senate Judiciary Committee, Fall 2022.
"My externships helped me appreciate the practical impact of the laws I read about in class. I feel more prepared to enter the legal profession, having seen what it entails in three different branches of government."
— Jill Chien, JD '24. Virginia Indigent Defense Commission, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, and Spring 2024; Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, Fall 2023.
“Field Placement was one of the most valuable experiences I had during my time at GW, and I will take everything I learned with me into my career as a public interest practitioner. The Program has given me the opportunity to provide services directly to clients and I have been able to apply what I learned to helping people in our community.”
— Cole Vick, JD ‘24. Brady: United Against Gun Violence, Fall 2022; Global Action on Gun Violence, Spring 2024.
“I chose the George Washington University Law School because of its emphasis on experiential learning and after hearing Dean Keri McCoy speak about the robustness of the Field Placement Program and how critical it is for law students to develop their legal skills and increase their marketability in order to achieve their career goals."
— Aashini Choksi, JD ‘24. Department of Labor, Fall 2022; Montgomery County State Attorney’s Office, Spring 2023; Executive Office of the President, Spring 2024.
“I've had the opportunity to work in different agencies and government offices to help me figure out my career goals. From conducting full-length trials as a student attorney to polishing the text of federal legislation, I've been able to engage in extremely impactful work on a federal and local level.”
Field Placement Portal
Visit the Field Placement page on MyLaw for additional information about eligibility, registration, and finding an externship.
Externship Opportunities
Visit CORE to view current postings, and find the list of Field Placement-Eligible CORE Postings on the Field Placement Page of MyLaw.
Forms and Guidance
For additional information about supervisor duties, please contact us at [email protected].
Posting Externship Opportunities
Post an externship for GW Law students online using CORE.
For information on how to post an opportunity, contact [email protected].
If you have questions regarding students earning academic credit for their work, contact [email protected].
The Domestic Violence Project is a Field Placement Program corequisite course for students enrolled in a domestic violence legal placement, including trial work with a local legal service provider on domestic violence cases, policy or legislative work on domestic violence issues with a national organization, or appellate work with the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP).
As a part of GW Law’s Business and Finance Law Program, selected students may participate in the GW Law in New York Program in New York City during the fall or spring semesters to engage in practical, in-depth study and experience in the field. GWNY prepares students for business law practice, encompassing the fields of banking, bankruptcy, commercial, corporate, finance, real estate, securities, and transactional law.
- What are the externship eligibility requirements?
- Government, judicial, and nonprofit organizations
- Paid or unpaid*
- Last at least 8 weeks
- Externships can be in the remote, in-person, or hybrid format
*Paid externships are permitted with government, judicial and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations pursuant to the pilot program that is in place for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Who is eligible for Field Placement?
- JD students can participate in the Program after the completion of the law school's first year curriculum
- Most LLM students can participate. However, we recommend that LLM students confirm eligibility with their respective Program Dean or Director
- MSL students (both US and international) may earn academic credit for qualifying externships through the Field Placement Program with approval from their respective Program Dean or Director
- What is the corequisite requirement?
- A corequisite course is mandatory for JD participants
- The corequisite courses are taught by judges or attorneys
- LLMs and MSLs are not required to take a corequisite course
- How can I secure an externship?
- Make an appointment with a Career Counselor who can help you find an externship that aligns with your professional goals
- Browse and apply for Field Placement-eligible externships through CORE
- A list of recent student evaluations is available on the Field Placement page of MyLaw. The list will offer insight into previous student experiences at many of our most popular placement locations
- The Field Placement Program regularly sends emails with eligible opportunities. 1Ls should expect to begin receiving these emails in the spring semester
- Any externship that meets the Field Placement requirements will be approved
- What kind of credits can I earn in Field Placement?
- All JD Student Externs in the Program will be enrolled by Field Placement in two courses:
- Field Placement
- A corequisite course that relates to their externship work
- JD students may earn 1-4 Field Placement credits per semester, and 8 credits total over the course of their law school matriculation (this does not include credits for the corequisite course)
- LLM and MSL students may earn 1-2 Field Placement credits per semester, and 4 credits total over the course of their law school matriculation
- Each credit requires:
- 60 hours of work
- 5 pages of written work product
- Each externship must last at least 8 weeks
- All JD Student Externs in the Program will be enrolled by Field Placement in two courses:
A Message from Dean McCoy
The Field Placement Program at GW Law is the gold standard! Each year, our students participate in some 500 externships with the unique government, judicial, and nonprofit organizations that surround our law school. The value of these experiential opportunities cannot be overstated.
As a law student, you must never forget that experience matters. To determine or fine-tune your personal career goals and increase your marketability for the careers that you seek, it will be critical for you to gain experience. GW Law students also benefit greatly from the opportunities that Field Placement provides to grow their professional networks. In addition to the attorneys and judges that students work with in the field, their corequisite courses are taught by highly-credentialed and accomplished judges and attorneys from the prestigious organizations surrounding the law school.
At GW Law, you are always just steps away from the places and people that can help you achieve your career goals. This is precisely why you come to GW Law!
American Bar Associate Standards: The American Bar Association’s Standards for the Approval of Law Schools are minimum requirements designed to ensure that law schools provide a sound program of legal education. All Field Placement Program externships must be compliant with applicable American Bar Association Standards.